Archive for the ‘Campaigns’ Category

Danny Alexander LibDem MP

MP’s and their expenses are under ever greater scrutiny than ever before and rightly so. Some are legitimate expenses and others are bordering on outright fraud.

I found it interesting to note from the article in the Press and Journal the amount of expenses claimed by a number of Scottish MP’s which were well into the top 50 as far as amounts actually claimed.

Danny Alexander is among the highest expense claims of MP’s at Westminster. It led me to wonder if all that money for these MP’s was money well spent. While the likes of Danny Alexander claim a large geographical area as the reason for such huge expenses claimed we cannot forget the fact that its not all fares.

Not so long ago he was approached as were all the local parties to make a contribution to the Blythwood food bank appeal that was trying desperately hard to assist the poor who had no food to eat here in the Highland capital of Inverness and the surrounding area.

I had raised close to £1000 of food aid which had also come from donations from Conservative Party members and I had thought that a cross party effort would have gone a long way to helping those in need.

Danny refused to help and stated that he thought it more important to talk about the situation than to donate anything to it.

Ofcourse at that time few of us knew that every piece of food that Danny put in his mouth was paid for by the taxpayer from expenses he claimed. All legitimate ofcourse. At least as far as the law was concerned.

I am wondering what actual worth some of these MP’s actually bring though. Sure they can appear in the newspapers and opine on this and that on a regular basis.

Danny talks a lot but in my opinion and many others actions speak louder than words.

Are MP’s like Danny Alexander worth the investment ? With a bit of luck we will find out soon enough once people here in the Highlands look at the real worth of those who claim to be working so hard on our behalf.

Jim Ferguson

North and north-east members in top 50

Chairman of Scottish affairs committee was most expensive in 2009-10

Published: 05/02/2010

NINE MPs representing seats in the north and north-east were revealed last night to be among the 50 most expensive at Westminster in the last financial year.

The MP with the highest expenses for 2009-10 was Glasgow East Labour MP and Scottish affairs committee chairman Mohammed Sarwar, who is retiring at the general election – expected in May.

He racked up £192,986 in second homes allowance claims, travel expenses, office costs, computer costs and staff pay.

But his example was closely followed by MPs north of the central belt.

Moray MP Angus Robertson, ranked third most costly, last night defended his £188,164 claim. He said it was partly caused by the extra expense resulting from opening a second constituency office at Keith, and partly high travel costs.

He said: “Given the unpredictability of parliamentary schedules, weekly commuting arrangements often have to be made at short notice, which sadly adds to the travel costs.

“Constituents rightly expect you to attend to issues and events locally as well as with matters at Westminster on a weekly basis.”

He added: “The biggest cost saving from Westminster will come when Scotland is independent and we don’t need to send MPs there at all. I am focused on making that happen as quickly as possible.

At just £539 a year lower, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander, also blamed travel costs, driving round one of the biggest constituencies in the UK and commuting back and forth between Inverness and London.

Linlithgow and Falkirk East Labour MP Michael Connarty and Falkirk Labour MP Eric Joyce, at fourth and fifth, were only a few pence less.

Mr Joyce — frequently at or near the top of the expenses league — also cited travel between his home in Falkirk and London as the reason his expenses remain high, pointing out that MPs have to fly on expensive open tickets because they do not know their arrangements very far ahead.

Aberdeen North MP Frank Doran came in at No 12 in the table, claiming £182,139.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Lib Dem MP John Thurso, at No 22, claimed £178,689, Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern, 23, £178,597, and Gordon Lib Dem MP Malcolm Bruce, 24, £178,230.

Perth and North Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart was 34th with £175,896.

The cheapest was First Minister Alex Salmond, also SNP MP for Banff and Buchan, 533rd, but he rarely appeared in Westminster, claiming £131,316, mainly in staff costs. Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil was 431st, claiming £141,583.

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As you would expect I am no fan of Gordon Brown or this lunatic Labour Government. However I am seriously of the growing opinion that Gordon Brown is simply in denial over much of this failed Labour Governmenst’s lack of ability and understanding in dealing with what is crystal clear to the vast majority of people all across the UK.

This is symptomatic of Brown and his lack lustre cronies and hangons in the cabinet who between them wouldent know common sense if it jumped up and bit them on their behind !

Defence of the nation is paramount in these uncertain times and to have such appalling lack of understanding on simple basics as we can see from the report below is shocking and very alarming.

I dont know who we should fear the most. Al -Qaeda or another term of Labour. Frankly its my honest belief that the latter would be more of a threat to and do more damage to Britain. Probably already have !

Jim Ferguson

Brown still in denial over defence black hole

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox has responded to the publication of the Government’s defence Green Paper.

“Bob Ainsworth deserves genuine praise for his attempts to find a cross party consensus. This Green Paper indicates that the MoD is coming out of denial but the Prime Minister is not”, he said.

Fox criticised Gordon Brown for “undermining a Secretary of State on the front page of the Times”, contrasting the Defence Secretary’s defence cut backs in December with the Prime Minister’s announcement of defence increases this week.

He also criticised the Prime Minister’s office for “briefing that any project that has job implications for the Prime Minister’s constituency will be spared”.

Fox said he agreed that France and the United States are likely to be our main strategic partners, but added that there were two tests: ”Do they invest in defence? And do they fight?  Too few European allies pass both these tests.”

And he called on the Government to “give honest answers about the implications of the cost overruns in the years ahead”, given that – unlike the Opposition and the House of Commons - it has access to all the costs of the contracts and penalty clauses for the major programmes.

Later on, Fox called on Gordon Brown to apologise for misleading the House of Commons. At Prime Minister’s Questions he repeatedly made the allegation that the Conservatives pledged to cut defence spending at the 2005 election, when the manifesto was committed to a £2.7bn increase in frontline spending.

Read Liam Fox’s speech in Parliament in response to the Secretary of State’s statement

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I was particularly interested to see the announcement of superfast broadband which a Conservative Government will introduce. Clearly business and so many individuals now use the internet that it has become an essential way to do business and has opened up so many opertunities especially for home working.

Living in the Highlands of Scotland in a very rural area has its limitations as far as working in relation to the internet and doing business online goes and this announcement is a very welcome one indeed.

This is indeed the way forward and will help boost our economy and market share on a global basis.

Jim Ferguson

Nationwide superfast broadband by 2017

Monday, February 1 2010

As part of our plans to Get Britain Growing, the Conservatives have unveiled plans to help make the UK the first major European country that has superfast broadband in the majority of homes by 2017.

Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said “we are currently one of the slowest countries in the developed world for broadband”, but with the Conservatives “we’ll become one of the fastest”.

He said Britain’s digital and creative industries “must have a proper communications infrastructure” if they are to become “world beaters”.

The Conservative approach to achieving this has three key components:

• We will create a regulatory framework to ensure the roll-out of superfast broadband at speeds of up to 100mbps to the majority of homes across the UK by 2017. This could involve either mobile or fixed line solutions and will be significantly faster than the Government’s proposed target. Our objective is to make the UK the first major European country to achieve this aim, securing its place as a European and global hub for the creative industries.
• We will end BT’s local loop monopoly by allowing other operators to use their ducts and poles thereby encouraging competition in the superfast broadband market. This approach has proved successful in other countries such as Singapore and South Korea: these countries are global leaders in superfast broadband infrastructure.
• We are committed to universal access to superfast broadband speeds. If the market does not deliver this in certain areas we will consider using the proportion of the licence fee dedicated to digital switchover to finance superfast broadband roll out under the new BBC licence fee settlement, starting in 2012. This amount would be leveraged to maximise the investment made, either by making it available as loans or on a matched funding basis.

Under these plans, Hunt said that “high speeds will be available not just in our cities but across the rural areas that have been left behind for too long”.

“These regulatory changes will create the right conditions for sustainable growth and ensure that the digital sector plays a leading role in a competitive, balanced economy”, he added.

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There are no guarantees as to the outcome of the General Election although the indicators are there for a Conservative win. However it seems that a large number of Labour and LibDem MP’s see the writing on the wall and are not even trying to fight their corner at the next General  Election. They have lost the will to fight it would seem.

Jim Ferguson

The Labour and Lib Dem MPs in Tory target seats who will avoid the electorate’s verdict at the general election

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The Highland Capital of Inverness is seeing its unfair share of drug activity and as I took part in a multi agency briefing at Police Headquarters I could not help but be moved by the story of Kate Shanks who lost her Daughter Suzanne through addiction to drugs.

Families are being devastated through their children becoming addicted to drugs and the anguish this causes not only for the person who becomes addicted but also the family is truly tragic. For the sake of our communities I would urge that every member of the public be more aware and contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where they can report all drug dealing in total confidence without giving away any personal details.

Our communities must take a stand and support the Police in bringing these evil drug dealers to justice but the Courts and the Criminal Justice System must ensure these people are removed from the streets of Scotland and no longer threaten our families and young people and take a harder stance as far as drug dealing is concerned.

Jim Ferguson

Kate Shanks speaks to BBC

BBC NEWS
Mother’s plea over drug dealers

The mother of a woman who died of a suspected heroin overdose has appealed to the public to help police catch drug dealers.

Kate Shanks, of Elgin, lost her daughter Suzanne earlier this year. The 30-year-old was found dead in her flat in Culloden by her father Gordon.

Mrs Shanks spoke out to add weight to efforts by Northern Constabulary and Crimestoppers Scotland.

She said: “Drugs only lead to misery and heartache.”

Northern Constabulary have previously warned that Inverness’s expansion as a city had made it and the surrounding area a target for drug gangs.
“ I would encourage people to report anyone they suspect someone may be dealing or using drugs ”
Kate Shanks

The force is promoting Crimestopper’s Ditch a Dealer campaign.

Last month, a study by the University of Glasgow suggested the number of injecting drug users in Scotland was continuing to increase.

The researchers estimated that in 2006, 23,933 people in Scotland were injecting drugs representing about a 30% rise on estimates for 2003.

Mrs Shanks said in total there were about 55,000 drug addicts in Scotland.

She said: “I would encourage people to report anyone they suspect may be dealing or using drugs.

“There are a number of reasons why people take drugs, but in the case of youngsters it is usually peer pressure. Suzanne was only 18 or 19 when she became a full blown addict, having experimented with other drugs prior to that.

“I would like to say to all youngsters – drugs only lead to misery and heartache and no one wants to end up like Suzanne or put their family through the torment we have gone through.”

In the summer, drug users, their families and friends were offered training in spotting signs of an overdose in a bid to cut drug-related deaths in the Highlands.

NHS Highland, which was leading the pilot project, said at the time that six people who abused illegal substances had died in the area since January.

Training covered calling the emergency services and basic first aid.

Naloxone, an antidote to drugs including heroin, was also made available.

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Its unacceptable to see such distress caused to people who take a pride in their property and who seem to be getting plagued by acts of vandalism. Of course its not the Police who we should be blaming as they are doing a great job overall. Its the courts and the pathetic weak justice system under this present SNP Administration and until stiffer sentances and proper deterents are put in place we will see this kind of problem growing worse.

Jim Ferguson

CALLS for tougher punishments for vandals who cause blight their communities have been made following a spate of attacks on Hallowe’en.
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At least three homes, one car, a garage and garden walls had yellow paint thrown on them in Balnakyle Road, Lochardil, overnight on Saturday.

Jim Ferguson, chairman of Inverness’s crime prevention panel, believes communities must be on their guard.

“We are once again witnessing acts by people who think they can get away with basic lawlessness,” he said. “The vast majority of people are sick to death of this kind of behaviour.

“What we really need is strong measures to thoroughly punish the perpetrators of damage and vandalism and, until we can find the stomach and will to do that, we are going to see more and more incidents happening across the region and it’s unfair on hardworking, decent people who have mindless thugs wrecking their property.”

Hard labour for older culprits and fines for the parents of younger vandals have been suggested by Mr Ferguson, who is also chairman of the Highlands and Islands branch of Crimestoppers – an agency which he believes could be key in catching these criminals.

“Crimestoppers offers anonymity to those with information,” he said. “But people are scared of what is being done and the problem is that there is no deterrent.

“The only way we are really going to stop these people is to make them too frightened to actually commit such crimes and at the moment they are not, which is the whole crux of the matter.

“They are basically giving two-fingers to the entire system and the community because they know they are going to get away with it and until we actually knuckle down and take robust action we are not going to get far.”

One of the victims of Saturday’s night vandalism in Lochardil was retired policeman Colin Sutherland, who was away when the paint was thrown at his window and garden wall.

“This is not an isolated Hallowe’en incident,” he declared.

“There has been other incidents. They covered the bollard in paint two or three weeks ago.”

The street bollard which was smothered in green paint. Bobby Nelson

He explained neighbours on both sides of the street had suffered similar vandalism and complained of underage drinking in the area.

“We are suffering intolerable disturbance here and over the years we have been phoning the police and getting very little or minimal response, so much so I have already written to my councillor and intend to write to my MP because it is not good enough,” continued Mr Sutherland, who praised Highland Council staff for cleaning the paint from his window last Sunday.

“The neighbours are equally incandescent with the police response over the last few years to repeated complaints of disturbance, annoyance and vandalism.”

Other vandalism on Hallowe’en included a car windscreen being broken in Ardconnel Terrace overnight and a wing mirror being ripped off a vehicle in Hill Street.

The attacks add to a series of worrying incidents over the past month including 15 cars being damaged in Hilton, paint stripper being thrown over three vehicles at Highland MOTS in Seafield Road and a £1300 window at the new £10.5 million Highland Archive and Registration Centre near Bught Park being smashed.

Inverness police are appealing for information on any of the incidents, particularly the Balnakyle Road vandalism.

“Those responsible may well have been covered in paint,” said a Northern Constabulary spokeswoman.

Anyone with information about these crimes should contact Inverness police on 01463 715555 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

andrew.dixon@inverness-courier.co.uk

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